Gay U. of Tennessee alums raise $300G for defunded LGBTQ center

The University of Tennessee’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion was stripped of its funding in 2016 by Republican lawmakers. (sframephoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Openly gay alumni of the University of Tennessee are fighting to reopen the school's Pride Center after state lawmakers chose to defund the campus' Office for Diversity and Inclusion.

Activists raised more than $300,000 with a fundraiser earlier this month in Nashville — money they hope will support the reopening of the center that local Republican government officials defunded in 2016, citing a number of reasons, like the circulation of a newsletter requesting that teachers be mindful of students' preferred gender pronouns, the Knox News reported. Lawmakers were also reportedly offended by the center's support of "Sex Week," a series of programs that sought to educate students about sexuality, sex safety and sexual assault prevention.

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"We were taking a giant step backwards and sending a message to prospective students, students who were there, faculty and staff that gay people are not welcome here," Chad Goldman, co-host of the fundraiser, told NBC News.

Goldman said he was "infuriated" when he learned of the diversity office's defunding and subsequent lack of support for the Pride Center. He said that it's unfortunate that the school's LGBTQ students were caught in the middle of a political "culture war" since they relied on the center as a safe space on campus.

"When you're a young person of that age, life can be challenging enough already, and you're trying to figure out your way, figure out who you are," Goldman said. "When you are coming to grips with being gay or LGBTQ ... it makes it all that more difficult."

The UT alumnus said that the center did not exist when he attended the school in the early 1990s and that he was raised in the red state and sympathizes with kids who feel alienated.

"I was in the closet, but even more extreme than that, I hadn't even been able to come to terms with it myself," he said. "I just refused to accept it, and it was very, very difficult at that time."

This month's fundraiser is the second involving Goldman and his husband, Brian Pendleton, who's also an LGBTQ advocate. They collected donations at their annual Super Bowl party last January after learning that the center was being defunded in 2016. They collected $9,000 in one night.

"We handed it over to the university unsolicited, and that's kind of what got the ball rolling with funding the center with private funds," Goldman said.

They easily surpassed their one-night total this year when the second fundraiser was held at the home of another LGBTQ alumnus of the university after the school's chancellor, Beverly Davenport, prompted them to establish an endowment.

The flood of donations has inspired a new goal of $3 million for the next charity event to be held in either Atlanta or Washington D.C. later this year. A website set up to accept donations online is open as well.

"If we can [raise $300,000] in one single night, I feel very confident that we are going to get there," Goldman said. "It belongs there just like any other student group does. I just want it to be there forever, as long as it's needed."